An attendant greeted us warmly inside the baths' entrance, her eyes shining with excitement. “Welcome, Captain Lightbringer and Lady Nora! We’ve been expecting you!”

So, Vernie’s plan was pre-meditated and not just off the cuff.

She gestured briefly to the women’s side of the baths before leading us into a changing room. “Please leave your clothes… oh, and your swords—”

“They’ll both stay with me, thanks,” I replied, not about to be left entirely unarmed.

“We don’t normally allow… oh… but yes, I understand!” she laughed nervously. “Please leave your clothes in the baskets here. We’ll wash them and return them to your rooms when they’re ready.” She then held up a few garments. “In the meantime, we’ll provide you with a chemise and robe.”

The rest of her instructions were rather customary; we were to wash up first in one of the stone basins built into the wall before entering the main pool of water. She bowed several times at the end of her speech and returned to the women’s entrance to stand guard with her back to us. I waited several moments to assure myself she wouldn’t peek at us before disrobing. I then peeled off my layers, surprised at how much gunk they had absorbed. After gathering several towels, some soap, my two swords, and my hachimaki that I decided would be hand-washed only by yours truly, I headed into the bathing area.

To my relief, the bathing room seemed to be heated by a circulating hot air system under the floor. The warm tiles felt pleasant underneath my feet, and the water in the wall basins, while not hot per se, was tolerable. I washed up as quickly as possible, as it was the soaking pool I looked forward to most. It was about the length of two hot tubs and just a little deeper than the average.

“Hold it,” Nora warned as I started to move towards the pool. “You didn’t get all the stuff out of your hair.”

I felt through my wet locks, finding several sticky spots. “Ugh…”

“Sit. I’ll help you.”

I sat quietly, curled up in a ball, as she tried her best to work out the goo. It eventually took a comb, plenty of soap, and a firm hand to break it up successfully.

“Am I going to have any hair left?” I asked plaintively.

“Relax. It'll grow back soon enough.”

“Easy for you to say,” I muttered. “It’s my head you’re pulling on.”

“…I’m sorry,” she murmured as she stopped, uncharacteristic guilt lacing her voice.

“Oh, I was just…” I sighed. “I didn’t mean it. It’s not a big deal.”

“I’ll be more careful,” she promised, resuming with a gentler pull.

“Maybe I should just shave it off completely,” I suggested to reduce the tension. “Might be interesting to see how long it takes to regrow!”

“Don’t you dare!” she gasped. “As your best friend, I’m obligated to tell you that is probably the worst idea for a hairstyle you’ve ever had!”

I giggled. “Even worse than a classic mullet?”

She muttered a mock swear under her breath. “I forgot about that. Thank goodness I stopped you in time!” She set the comb down. “Okay. I think I got it all. Now we can get in the pool.”

I put my swords on the pool's ledge, ensuring they were within arm’s reach should disaster strike twice. After entering the warm water, an awkward silence filled the room for a few minutes before I could ask, “Can we… talk?”

“Weren’t we just doing that?”

I stared at the water, gathering my thoughts. “Yeah, but… you know. About other things. Like we used to.”

“We can talk about anything you want,” she replied, sounding both curious and apprehensive. “Always.”

“I’m… okay with it.” I declared softly, watching the water ripple slowly across the pool’s surface. “So, you don’t have to hide it anymore, at least, from me. As long as we can still confide in each other—that’s all that matters.”

“…Wut?”

I took a deep breath and forced myself to look at her. “Isn’t it tiresome to try and arrange all the alone time? It’s probably stressful for him, too. You don’t have to tell me about it if it makes you uncomfortable, but I don’t want you to think you have to tip-toe around my feelings. As I said, I’m fine with it. In fact… I’m happy for you!”

Nora’s eyes were as large as the full moon. “What in the nine circles of hell are you blabbering about?”

I sank into the pool until my shoulders dipped beneath the surface and confessed, “I saw you with Relias in the courtyard earlier—by accident! I swear I wasn’t spying! Prince Mito and I were on our way to talk to the King—”

“Just because we were in the gardens, you assumed we were…” She wrinkled her nose. “Him… and me?!”

“He was holding your hand! And you two were close and cozy, whispering about… well, something private, I’m sure…”

Abject disbelief took over her entire face. “He wasn’t holding my—Wait. My right hand?”

I nodded.

“I asked him to check if my hand had been blessed by Euphridia, just like yours!”

I looked between her and my own right hand several times. “So… you weren’t… I mean—”

The first wave of water splashing me across the face was utterly permissible under Article 37, subsection F of the Best Friend Act (BFA for short), colloquially known as “Punishments for Mistaken for Couple Trope.” However, the subsequent swells, accompanied by hysterical laughter, were just a bit too much.

“Keugh! Kak! Stop!” I shouted, splashing back in defense. “It’s going up my nose!”

“Yeah? Hopefully, it’s rinsing off your brain!” Despite her words, she stopped. “I can’t believe you thought he and I were…”

I plugged one nostril to blow out the water in the other. “Why is that so weird?”

“Rae, I’ve only known him for, like, a hot minute! And besides… Rule eight of the Girl Code?”

“Rule eight…” I frowned. “Give a head’s up if the stall is out of toilet paper?”

Oh, what I wouldn’t give for toilet paper in this world. Even that cheap, single-ply stuff!

“No, no going out with your BFF’s ex or crush!”

I felt my jaw drop, leaving myself completely defenseless. “I-I don’t! I don’t have a crush on him!”

And you have to date before considering someone your ex...

“Are you sure?” she asked. “You always used to say Raelynn was Relias’s one-and-only.”

I slowly sunk deeper into the pool until I could petulantly blow bubbles in the water. “Whatever I feel… isn’t a crush.”

“Still, I think a corollary applies here.” She cleared her throat and put her hand to her chest, chanting, “When your BFF is in doubt, don’t you dare ask him out.”

I still wanted additional confirmation. “You really don’t... have those kinds of feelings for him? I mean, the rule, or corollary, or whatever, would work the other way, too.” It’s not like I had priority rights over him or anything.

“I don’t know him well enough to have an opinion. You know how long it takes me to warm up to strangers.”

Now it was my turn to cock an eyebrow. “You weren’t like that with me when we first met. Or Aleph, or Tetora.”

“You’re an exception,” Nora replied quickly. “And I already felt like I knew those two from the story.”

“But you don’t feel like you know Relias?”

“Right. Not yet. That’s all,” she said with an air of finality as if she wouldn’t entertain any more questions.

“He speaks very highly of you…” I murmured. “He thinks you’re smart and talented.”

“Well…” Nora conceded with a blush. “He has keen insight, then. But honestly, most of the time, we talk about you.”

“Me?” I squeaked awkwardly. “What does he want to know?”

“Well… What you like and dislike, and if you’re doing alright.”

I made a face. “He could just ask me directly, couldn’t he?”

Nora paused, her lips pursing. “If I were to put a finger on it…”

“Hmm?”

“I’d say he’s trying to figure out how much you’ve changed… as if he has some outdated notions. I don’t think he wants to be caught off-guard or inadvertently offend you.”

“Makes sense…” I sighed softly.

Nora pointed at me. “So, here’s the deal. If either of us is inclined to become more than friends with anyone we know… how about we talk it through with each other first? Just to make sure we’re not going to instigate some weird love triangle trope?” She started to smile again. “The ones with curly hair always turn out to be the villainess in those.”

I laughed. “Okay, it’s a deal. Uh… by the way, Nora?”

“Yeah?”

“Um… did she end up blessing your hand?” I asked carefully.

“No.”

“Oh.”

“It’s fine. I know I’m not her favorite,” she admitted quietly.

“She’s just jealous,” I sniffed. “Cause you’re my favorite.”

She splashed me again. “You’re way too sappy!”

Walking back to our room in puffy pajamas while carrying dual blades felt weird, but luckily, nobody we crossed paths with was idle enough to stop and gawk. The most we got were a few curious passing glances. Reginald, much too refined to utter any off-hand remarks, briefly greeted us at the door with a cart of leftovers from the banquet, and I found I had entirely recovered from my earlier loss of appetite. We settled around the table quickly, helping ourselves to the entrees as fast as he could unload them.

Vernie was right. I didn’t get to eat until around midnight, after all.

“At least roasts taste good even when cold,” I declared as I ate a mouthful of pork. “I’m going to skip the potatoes, though.”

They’re just simple carbs anyway. Save those points for dessert!

Nora made a show of attacking her food as well, but I noticed she wasn’t shoveling it in like I was.

“Something bothering you?” I asked.

“We leave for Chairo the day after tomorrow… If Relias is well enough, right?”

I nodded.

“Are you going to ask him to bless Celestia right away?”

What was the correct answer? Should we have him bless it proactively and risk his health? Or should we wait until he regained his strength, leaving us with slightly inferior weaponry?

After swallowing my food, I decided, “Let’s play it by ear. We’re not going anywhere if he’s unfit to travel.”

“Is there anything else you want to do before we set off?” Nora asked after stabbing at a piece of chicken. “It might be nice to take a vacation day before… you know.”

Yeah. All bets are off once we reach Chairo.“Actually… There is one thing I want to try to do tonight.” I set down my utensils. “But… it has to remain a secret, okay? You can’t tell anyone else about it.”

Nora perked up. “Okay! What are we going to do? Who are we going after?!”

“I’m going to sleep… if I start doing or saying weird stuff, you’ll wake me up.”

“What does that have to do with any—Rae!” she ended in a gasp. “You can’t be serious!”

“I am,” I replied, buffing myself with all the confidence and determination I could muster. “It’s time the two of us had a talk, and this is the safest way I can think of. It’s either this or saying his name out loud in an unanticipated fit of rage.”

I had come close to screaming it a few times already.

“But… what if he does something to you while you’re asleep?”

I shook my head. “I doubt it’s even possible. Wouldn’t he have done something before if he could? The best move he had was leaving me to believe in my own misconceptions.” It worked, but still, it was risky at best, and he didn’t take chances.

Nora chewed her lip. “Maybe you should wait, you know, until you’re a little stronger?”

“No. Every time I think about demons… or anything related to them, I end up there anyway. At least this time, I’m going in with a backup plan in case things go south. Trust me, after what happened tonight, there’s no way I won’t be a walk-in.” It wasn’t quite the truth, since sometimes I found myself dreaming of him from the past, but it just felt like I couldn’t avoid the present him much longer.

“A walk-in?” she echoed in confusion.

I shrugged. “I never make an appointment in advance, it seems.”

Nora scowled. “Cut the crappy jokes! I’m terrified over this!”

“Me too. That’s why I say them,” I replied with a wince. “It’s a good distraction for me.”

Nora glowered at me silently for a moment. “You know… what you want to say to him?”

“Yeah.”

She waited for me to continue, but I offered nothing else. “…Fine. Do you know how to ‘Signal for Help?’”

Was this a trick question?

“Uh, I shout… help?”

“No. This.” She held up her left hand, tucked her thumb into her palm, then folded her other fingers over the top of it in a move that completely trapped her thumb briefly before she raised her fingers and repeated the gesture several times. “You might not be able to talk, or I might not be able to understand, so you should signal instead. It doesn’t matter which hand you use.”

“Okay,” I agreed, testing it out. “That’s pretty clever.”

“There are some caveats to using and responding to it, but I think for this particular situation… it’s probably your best bet.”

We finished our meal and turned in for the night, leaving several candles lit. Nora sat in a chair beside my bed, staring intently at me.

“Even with my eyes completely shut, I can feel you doing that. Why don’t you write in your journal or something?”

“Alright…” Nora sighed and turned away slightly. “…Rae?”

“Yeah?”

“I want to say goodnight or pleasant dreams, but I’m not sure that will get you what you want.”

“Ha… Don’t worry, I understand your sentiment,” I mumbled, curling up in the covers.

Nora pulled the blanket out from under me. "Sorry, but you need to keep your hands where I can see 'em."

My somewhat cozy blanket! Grr!

“This better be worth it!" I grumbled as I closed my eyes.